The Child's Bath

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Date:

1893

Artist:

Mary CassattAmerican, 1844–1926

About this artwork

In this work, Mary Cassatt addressed the theme for which she is best known—women and children—while also experimenting with compositional elements of Japanese art. In 1890, after viewing a large exhibition of Japanese prints at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, Cassatt produced a series of prints influenced by their aesthetics. The Child’s Bath is the culmination of her investigation of a flattened picture plane and decorative patterning. The intimate scene of everyday life also echoes the subject of many Japanese prints. In Cassatt’s painting, the mother’s encircling arms and gentle touch convey an overall feeling of protection and tenderness.

Milo M. Naeve, “The Edwardian Era and Patrons of American Art at the Art Institute of Chicago: The Birth of a Tradition,” America’s International Exposition of Fine Arts and Antiques (Lakeside Group, 1988), 23, fig. 5.

Judith A. Barter et al., American Arts at The Art Institute of Chicago: From Colonial Times to World War I (Art Institute of Chicago, 1998), 262–65, no. 1893.

Judith A. Barter et al., The Age of American Impressionism: Masterpieces from the Art Institute of Chicago (Chicago: Art Institute of Chicago/Yale University Press, 2011), no. 24.

Thomas J. Bussey, “What Can Biochemistry Students Learn About Protein Translation? Using Variation Theory to Explore the Space of Learning Created by Some Common External Representations” (PH. D. diss., University of Nevada Las Vegas, 2013)., 9–10, fig. 5.

Ken Johnson, “Paul Durand–Ruel, the Paris Dealer Who Put Impressionism on the Map,” New York Times, July 22, 2015 (ill.).

Paintings at the Art Institute of Chicago: Highlights of the Collection, (Chicago: Art Institute of Chicago/Yale University Press, 2017) p. 78.

The artist; sold to Durand-Ruel, Paris, November 24, 1893 [Paris 2015]; sold to Harris Whittemore, Connecticut, January 17, 1894 [Paris 2015]; sold by him back to Durand-Ruel, New York, February 4, 1899 [Paris 2015]; sold to the Art Institute of Chicago, 1910.